Kitty Ussher: Following the March 2005 Treasury Committee report on ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) charging, the Treasury invited the chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, the right hon. John McFall, to chair a Working Group on ATMs to take forward work on key issues. The Working Group, which included banks, independent ATM operators and consumer groups, published its report on 13 December 2006.
	The Working Group announced an agreement to provide around 600 new free cash machines across 1,707 target low-income areas that it identified as lacking convenient access to these machines. To achieve this, a market-based financial incentive—known as a "financial inclusion premium"—was introduced, to encourage ATM operators to place or retain free ATMs in deprived areas with a low expected volume of transactions. The Working Group also agreed to implement improved transparency rules for charging cash machines. Since publication of the Working Group report, LINK has assessed around 10 per cent. of the identified low-income areas as unsuitable for an ATM location as there is no centre of population.
	The Government are pleased to report that the industry has, over the 18 months following publication of the Working Group's report, made excellent progress towards its goals of placing around 600 non-charging machines in low-income areas across the UK, with around 2 million individuals on low incomes standing to benefit.
	As of 30 June 2008, sites for 562 of the 600 new ATMs required have been identified. Of these, 419 new free machines are already in use and issuing cash to the public. Some 74 per cent. of these ATMs that are based in the target deprived areas receive the "financial inclusion premium". Encouragingly, nine of these new cash machines have proved so popular that their level of withdrawals means that they have now graduated from the "financial inclusion premium" scheme.
	Banks, building societies and independent ATM operators have all contributed new free-to-use cash machines; independent ATM operators have provided or are in the process of supplying around 35 per cent. of the confirmed new non-charging ATMs. The UK ATM network, LINK, is continuing to work with its member banks and ATM operators to identify suitable sites in the remaining target areas, and is engaging closely in this exercise with Members of Parliament, local authorities, consumer councils and retailers.
	The benefits in terms of financial inclusion are clear. Data from LINK suggest that the new ATMs currently in operation or under contract will enable almost 1.3 million residents in the target low-income areas to access cash more conveniently and manage their money more effectively.
	In terms of improved transparency, operators of cash machines that charge users for withdrawals and that can upload screens remotely, have met the end-June 2007 deadline to improve the onscreen standards of "at a glance" signage. This means that it is clear to a consumer when a charge is applied when withdrawing cash. Good progress was also made by operators in enhancing external signage by end December 2007.
	The Government are encouraged by the substantial progress achieved, and would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those involved in extending free access to cash to those who need it the most.
	Full details about progress made is available on the LINK Internet
	website at: http://www.link.co.uk/atm/access_to_cash _progress/index.html
	I will be issuing a final statement on the progress stemming from this initiative this December.

Parmjit Dhanda: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities will be publishing the final revision of the regional spatial strategy for the North West of England in late August or early September. On publication it will supersede the current RSS. Also to be published are the reports of a consolidated sustainability appraisal, a habitats regulations assessment and sustainability statement.
	The published regional spatial strategy will form part of the statutory development plan for every local authority in the North West, and set the framework for the production of local development frameworks and local transport plans. It will provide the spatial plan for the development of the region, and the policy framework for employment, housing, transport and the environment.
	The current strategy, initially published as regional planning guidance, became the regional spatial strategy in September 2004 with the enactment of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act. A draft revision of the regional spatial strategy was submitted to Government in January 2006 by the North West regional assembly. It was subsequently tested in an examination in public between November 2006 and February 2007, and the report of the independent panel which conducted this examination was published in May 2007. The Secretary of State considered the recommendations of this independent panel, and took into account the representations made on the draft revision, and also changes in Government policy since the draft revision was submitted, before publishing proposed changes for further public consultation between March and May 2008.
	On publication, a further statement and copies of the relevant documents will be available in the Libraries of both Houses and copies sent to the region's MPs and MEPs, members of the Opposition Front Bench and local authorities.

Edward Miliband: On 10 December 2007 the Government published its consultation document "Limiting Pre-Release Access to Statistics". The consultation ran over 12 weeks and closed on 3 March 2008. The Government proposed to tighten the rules under which pre-release access can be granted by:
	reducing pre-release access to a maximum of 24 hours;
	reducing the number of statistics to which pre-release access is granted to a minimum; and
	reducing the number of people to whom pre-release access is granted to a minimum.
	The Government are grateful for the responses they received to the consultation, which it found helpful in refining and developing its proposals.
	The Government are taking forward its proposals and will shortly lay the Pre- Release Access to Official Statistics Order 2008 before Parliament for approval by resolution of each House of Parliament.
	I am pleased to announce the publication of the Government's response to the consultation, "Limiting Pre-release Access to Statistics: the Government's response to the consultation exercise".
	Copies of this report have been placed in the Libraries of the House. The report is also available on the Cabinet Office website at www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/consultations.